Radial ball bearings

ABSTRACT

A novel radial ball bearing particularly adapted for mounting a water pump shaft provided with two rows of balls spaced from each other and which roll in grooves in the shaft to be mounted.

o Umted States Patent 1151 3,639,019

Schaeffler I 7 14s] Feb. 1,1972

1541 RADIAL BALL BE ARINGS 56] f v ner'erenmcnen 72 Inventor: Guigischnefflf,HrzpgenautahhmGf'" g UNlTEDSTATES PATENTS n 1 j ,230,62010/1918 L' ycock ..308/196 [73] Assignee; w m QHG, 1,375,112 4/1921Searles ..308/196 zogenaurachfiermany -.u:- 3,290,101 12/1966 Recknaggl..308/187.1 1 3,206,829v 9/1965 Schaeffler et al ..308/l87.1 221 Filed:June 15, 1970 [21] App-L No: 45,979 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS886,678 8/1953 Germany ..3os/1s9 Foreign Application Priority Data IPrimary Examiner--Edgar W. Geoghegan Assistant Examiner-Frank Susko July1, 1969 Germany ..G 69 25 932.1 Y Aug.22, 1969 Germany 69. 33 092.3Ammekfiammndglmen 521 11.5.0 ..30s/193 [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. F1619/08 A novel radial ball bearing particularly adapted for mounting [58]Field of Search ..308/193,195, 196 1 a water p p shaft provided with tworows of balls spaced from each other and which roll in grooves in theshaft to be mounted.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENYED FEB 1 m2 SHEET 1 OF 2 Inventor e Eon e sumwmm M WWW/$. 1 Z2251! ATTORNEYS 'Pmamzn ma H972 3639019Inventor: Mons scmwnw Hath/MW flTT ORYS 1 RADIAL BALL BEARINGS STATE orTHE ART Known radial ball bearings for mounting of shafts usually havetwo rows of balls rolling directly on grooves in the shaft and ongrooves in a common massive outer race. This common outer race isproduced by machining and is, therefor, ex-

3 pensive, particularly if additional slots or recesses have to beprovided for the retention of sealing elements.-

OBJECTS or THE INVENTION the portion of the sealing means near the racehalves may be walled housing until it contacts the outer face of therace half.

It is an object of the invention to provide radial ball bearings havingexcellent operating properties while being simply produced.

It is another object of the invention to provide a radial ball bearingfor mounting a shaft provided withseparate outer races for each row ofballs, said races being joined by a thinwalled shell or housing.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeobvious from the following detailed description.

THE INVENTION The radial ball bearing of the invention for mounting ashaft comprises two separate rows of balls spaced a distance from eachother rolling in grooves in a shaft, a separate massive outer raceprovided with a ball groove for each row of balls, said outer racesbeing joined together by a thin-walled housing produced without cutting.The said bearing is particularly adapted for mounting a shaft for awater pump.

The separate massive races are simply produced and there is no danger ofundue distortion in tempering because of their small axial extension.The ball grooves in the outer races can be accurately cut and,therefore, guarantee for the longest life is given. In many cases, theouter races of presently available commercial ball bearings may be usedand special production of the outer races may be avoided. The loadcapacity of the bearings of the invention is the same as bearings with asingle massive outer race despite the presence of the thin-walledhousing.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the outerraces are formed by separately arranged halves of a massive outer racesplit in a radial plane. This has particularly great advantages inmanufacturing if the outer races are not made separately but are theresult of fracturing a massive outer race in a radial plane. Aconventional massive outer race can, after finishing such as temperingand polishing, be split along a circular groove into two halves.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the separate massive races maybe secured in an inwardly axial direction by providing each of the innerfaces of the outer races with an abutment shoulder produced bynoncutting formation or by projections of the thin-walled housing.

If the radial ball bearing of the invention is to be provided with asealing means, the ends of the thin-walled housing are flanged over in aradially inward direction and a sealing means is inserted between theouter faces of the outer races and the flanged ends. In this manner, noslot or recess for the retention of the sealing means is required. Thesealing means should be elastic in an axial direction to axially.compensate for tolerances appearing in flanging of the endsof thethin-walled housing. If the outer races are formed by the two halves ofa massive outer race split in a radial plane, an initial stress of racehalves toward the rows of balls can be attained by axially elasticsealing means so that bearing may be made free of play.

If the outer races of the ball bearing of the invention consist of tworace halves arranged on the interior side of the rows of balls, the racehalves can be secured in an inward axial direction so that the innerfaces of the race halves are supported or abut against the ends of aspacing element which is axially elastic. The race halves areprestressed towards the rows of balls by the axial elasticity of thespacing element so that the bearing can be made free of play. In oneembodiment, the spacing element is axially secured relative to the thin-The sealing element may be provided with a metal support and providedwith recesses to supply space for lubricating greases.

Referring now to the drawings FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of oneembodiment of the radial ball bearing of the invention, with separateouter races and the upper portion and .lower portion of the drawingillustrate different shapes of the thin-walled outer housing; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the inventionwith the outer races formed by separately arranged halves of a massiveouter race split in a radial plane.

In the example of the radial ball bearing of FIG. 1, there isillustrated a water pump bearing having two series of spherical rollingbodies or balls 1 rolling in inner groves 2 machined in shaft 3. Theballs 1 are seated in cages 4 and the separated outer races 5 are joinedto each other by the thin-walled housing 6 provided with flanged ends 7directed radially inward and which embrace the outer races 5. Sealingrings 8 are inserted between the external face of massive outer races 5and the flanged ends 7 of the thin-walled housing 6.

The upper half of FIG. 1 illustrates a thin-walled housing 6 in whichthe opposite inner faces 9 of the massive outer race 5 are supported byshoulders 10 produced by diameter enlargement, without cutting, ofhousing 6 in the area of the outer races 5. The reduction 11, alsoformed without cutting, at flanged ends 7 acts to aid the bending overof the radially directed edge. The lower half of FIG. 1 illustrates thedesign in which shoulders 12 for the support of the outer race 5 areformed axially inwardly by a reduction, produced without cutting, of thewall thickness of the thin-walled housing 6. This form provides a radialball bearing having a uniform outer diameter.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the massive outer race halves l5 and 16 arejoined together by a thin-walled housing and the race halves can beseparately manufactured or by cleaving a conventional outer race along aradial plane. In the upper half of FIG. 2, shoulders 14 are formedwithout cutting, axially toward the interior of the thin-walled housing13 by reduction of the wall thickness of housing 13 in the area of racehalves l5 and 16 which abut against the said shoulders. The ends ofhousing 13 are bent over to form radially inwardly directed flanges 17.A reduction 18 is formed without cutting in the wall thickness ofhousing 13 where the flanges are bent over to facilitate the bending.Seals consisting of elastic gaskets 19 provided with a sealing lip oredge are arranged between the exterior faces of the race halves and theflanges 17. The gasket 19 is embraced by U-shaped sheet metal element 20for reinforcement. The sealing means is flexible in the axial directionto compensate for tolerances occurring in the bending over of flanges17. This embodiment is particularly advantageous when the'thin-walledhousing 13 has to have a smooth bore without shoulders.

In the embodiment in the lower half of FIG. 2, the thinwalled housing 21joining massive race halves 22 and 23 has a completely smooth inner andouter diameter. The race halves 22 and 23 are disposed on the interiorside of the ball races and are axially supported on the inner side byspacing element 24 which is elastic in the axial direction. Theelasticity of spacing element 24 can be effected by a coil springconstruction as illustrated in FIG. 2 or by a material having a lowmodulus of elasticity such as a plastic. The radial ball bearing in thelower half of Hg. 2 is provided at each end with a pressed-on sealconsisting of gasket 25 having a sealing lip and an L-shaped metalsupport 26. The sealing elements are pressed on until the metal element26 contacts the exterior faces of the race halves 22 and 23. The axiallydirected leg of L-shaped element 26 is shaped like a comb to providesupply spaces 27 for holding lubricants.

Various modifications of the radial ball bearings of the invention maybe made without departing from the spirit or scope thereof and it is tobe understood that the invention is to be limited only as defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A radial ball bearing for mounting a water pump shaft comprising twoseparate rows of balls spaced a distance from each other rolling ingrooves in a shaft, a separate massive outer race provided with a ballgroove for each row of balls, said outer races beingjoined together by athin-walled housing produced without cutting, and said outer races beinghalves of a massive outer race divided in a radial plane by fracturingof said massive outer race.

2. A ball bearing of claim 1 wherein the inner faces of the two outerraces abut against a shoulder produced without cutting in the internaldiameter of the thin-walled housing.

3. A radial ball bearing of claim 1 wherein the ends of the thin-walledhousing are provided with radially inwardly directed flanges and asealing means is provided between said flanges and the outer faces ofthe outer race.

4. A ball bearing of claim 3 wherein the sealing means is elastic in theaxial direction.

5. A ball bearing of claim 2 wherein the race halves are arranged on theinner side of the rows of balls and the inner faces of the outer racesabut against a spacing element which is axially elastic.

6. A ball bearing of claim 5 wherein the spacing element is axiallyfixed with respect to the thin-walled housing.

7. A ball bearing of claim 2 wherein the two race halves arranged on theinner side of the rows of balls and sealing elements are pressed ontothe end of the thin-walled housing until they contact the outer faces ofthe race halves.

1. A radial ball bearing for mounting a water pump shaft comprising twoseparate rows of balls spaced a distance from each other rolling ingrooves in a shaft, a separate massive outer race provided with a ballgroove for each row of balls, said outer races being joined together bya thin-walled housing produced without cutting, and said outer racesbeing halves of a massive outer race divided in a radial plane byfracturing of said massive outer race.
 2. A ball bearing of claim 1wherein the inner faces of the two outer races abut against a shoulderproduced without cutting in the internal diameter of the thin-walledhousing.
 3. A radial ball bearing of claim 1 wherein the ends of thethin-walled housing are provided with radially inwardly directed flangesand a sealing means is provided between said flanges and the outer facesof the outer race.
 4. A ball bearing of claim 3 wherein the sealingmeans is elastic in the axial direction.
 5. A ball bearing of claim 2wherein the race halves are arranged on the inner side of the rows ofballs and the inner faces of the outer races abut against a spacingelement which is axially elastic.
 6. A ball bearing of claim 5 whereinthe spacing element is axially fixed with respect to the thin-walledhousing.
 7. A ball bearing of claim 2 wherein the two race halvesarranged on the inner side of the rows of balls and sealing elements arepressed onto the end of the thin-walled housing until they contact theouter faces of the race halves.